Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Laughter

101M views on YouTube, so there must be something to this.

1 comment:

MamaM said...

101M views on YouTube, so there must be something to this.

Hmmmm...What do you think it might be? I watched the video multiple times myself, as there is more to it than baby laughter.

The excited foot wiggle in the beginning charms me as much as the delightful burst of laughter that follows the surprise of the first paper tear. Baby is ready to engage and his excitement and spontaneous outburst is a joy to see and hear. After the first laugh, the rest are part of a confirmation pattern, a way of testing, practicing, and playing along, while taking in data and checking in with eye contact the with Trusted Other in the room who is recording the event.

Dad runs the show and stokes the fire close to flashpoint, while baby goes along--almost but not quite tipping into hysteria. Listen to the sound of the laughter lessen and change and watch the baby shift focus and return, shift focus and return. Halfway through baby Micah appears to be done and ready to pay attention to something else. Dad, however, in following his own interests and fun, keeps the game going by ramping up the tearing and orchestrating a grand finale; to which baby responds by delivering the goods before reaching the point at the end where baby is clearly done.

I would not be surprised if some sort of meltdown or energy release for the little one followed that initially delightful but intense experience.

It's an intriguing video.